This Thursday, I was supposed to travel to Washington, DC to talk about Mastering the Art of French Eating at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The book discusses my admiration of Julia Child — as a home cook, student of French cuisine, and fellow diplomat’s wife — and I was excited and incredibly honored to give a talk at her kitchen (which is a permanent installation at the museum). Alas, due to the government shutdown — and subsequent closure of the Smithsonian — the event has been postponed.

Of course, I’m disappointed. Still, considering the thousands of Federal workers currently without a paycheck, I’m not complaining.

And then I thought — instead of presenting the book in DC, perhaps I could present DC to the book?

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to my publisher — and in shutdown solidarity — I’m delighted to be giving away three copies of Mastering the Art of French Eatingto currently furloughed Federal government workers!

Here’s how to enter: Leave a comment below telling me:
1) Where you work as a Federal employee

1) I work for the International Trade Commission, which is the agency that determines whether imports are actually hurting American producers. Some food items occasionally are investigated, i.e. shrimp, pasta.

What a great and generous idea! During the late 1990’s, I would often see Julia shopping at a farm stand in Lexington where she would stop after visiting her husband Paul at his medical care center. A few years later, i participated in a class at BU that she taught on Eggs, and she asked me about the health of the owner of the farm stand. Julia was a fantastic person with an incredible memory fo detail. If she were here, I think she would raise a glass of wine to salute your support of government employees and your new book!